The current financial crisis and economic downturn have caused many employers to implement lay-offs and reductions in force. In an effort to reduce the harsh economic impact of a sudden job loss, and in an effort to mitigate the negative employee relations issues that can result from downsizing, many employers offer affected employees separation pay or severance.

In response to many requests from our clients, Fisher & Phillips has developed a HIPAA Privacy and Security Compliance Package to help "business associates" bring their entities into HIPAA Privacy and Security Rule compliance with a minimum of hype, legal expense and distraction before their February 17, 2010 compliance deadline. Under the law, business associates include insurance brokers, certified public accountants, medical plan actuaries, consultants and other group health plan vendors. Our program provides step-by-step instructions, policies, forms and legal consultation so that the end results are compliance packages which business associates can price in advance and rely upon to meet all legal requirements.